


I searched for all these years (and now you're right here)

by Ashtheemeraldpotato



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, F/F, Polyamory
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-07
Updated: 2020-11-07
Packaged: 2021-03-08 20:35:22
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,644
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27442750
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ashtheemeraldpotato/pseuds/Ashtheemeraldpotato
Summary: Kanna leaves Yugoda behind at the Northern Water Tribe, as much as it hurts. Gyatso followed after Aang instead of protecting the temple. Hama meets Kanna in the Southern Water Tribe and they agree on saving Yugoda, but, how can they do it while also helping the Avatar save the world?
Relationships: Aang & Kanna (Avatar), Hakoda & Kanna (Avatar), Hama/Kanna (Avatar), Kanna/Yugoda (Avatar)
Comments: 4
Kudos: 8





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks you Jetru server for letting this idea be born. Special thanks to Ryn for helping with the title and a certain character we'll meet soon - and for beta reading as well.  
> Originally a one shot, but, oh well. Also, who is canon??? Do I know them???

Aang hopped on Appa and left without looking back. It seemed reasonable that the monks were concerned and told him about the Avatar, but they certainly didn't take into consideration how awful it'd be for him, how lonely they were forcing him to feel.

Fire Lord Sozin attacked shortly after, but the Air Temple was completely empty. Not even the bisons were there - what happened? Who took this glorious win from him? It didn't matter; as long as no one else knew he hadn't done anything, he'd still be the greatest Fire Lord ever.

~*~

A couple decades later, after receiving news about the coronation of Fire Lord Azulon, the Northern Water Tribe decided it was time to do something - and Pakku, the jealous teenager that was close to Chief Nukilik's family, had a plan.

"I promise you, Chief Nukilik. It's Umiaktorvik who has been slacking off to teach them waterbending. Even the non-benders spend time with them."

"I... Fine, Pakku, I'll see what I can do." Chief Nukilik sighed worriedly. The fact that apparently his own nephew was doing such things was something he couldn't bear to think about, but he had to be strong, and prepare the tribe for whatever Fire Lord Azulon had in mind. The Avatar should be a perfectly capable man by now, and if he hadn't done anything, then... It had to be a waterbending baby that was the Avatar.

Meanwhile, in Umiaktorvik's home, Kanna and Yugoda were sitting next to each other, while he practiced the gentle moves of healing that Yugoda insisted on teaching him as gratitude for teaching her to fight with waterbending. Their fingers were intertwined, and both of them had a soft, loving smile.

"Chief Nukilik wants to see you, Umiaktorvik." His mother announced softly, her face failing at hiding her concern. "I think he knows... I'm sorry." Kanna and Yugoda shared a shocked expression, while Umiaktorvik sighed worriedly, left the small amount of water on a bowl next to him, and left to see Chief Nukilik.

"I heard you were teaching women to fight." He said with an icy voice. Before Umiaktorvik could try to deny it, he kept going. "We're at risk now that Azulon is the Fire Lord - we need you to teach more of our men to fight, and leave the women to heal our warriors."

Umiaktorvik was Nukilik's nephew, and he was probably the only one who could see the caring glare his eyes had, one Chief Nukilik didn't have, but Nukilik, Umiaktorvik's uncle, did. "When do I start training them?" The young waterbender sighed.

"As soon as possible, Umiaktorvik. Now, do you know where Kanna is? She's getting engaged to Pakku." No one but Umiaktorvik knew about Kanna and Yugoda's relationship, and he had to warn them soon.

"I don't, but I'll search for her." Umiaktorvik faked a smile and left quickly, worry flooding his mind. It was enraging how they wouldn't let Yugoda learn to fight, how they could just break their relationship without even thinking about how they felt.

"Kanna! Yugoda! I have the worst news you could ever imagine!" He whisper-yelled once he made it back. He noticed Yugoda getting scared, and Kanna taking a more furious expression. "Chief Nukilik knows - I'm not sure how he wasn't furious, but he knows. He says I'll have to train more waterbenders, and you, Yugoda, will have to focus on healing."

"What about Kanna?" Yugoda asked gently, knowing the worst was yet to come. They'd been training in secret for so long they'd find a way to keep doing it, so there must've been something else.

"Kanna... Yugoda... I don't know how to say it." They could notice Umiaktorvik was about to shed furious tears. "It's so upsetting - Kanna, you're marrying Pakku. I don't know what's going on, but Chief Nukilik is looking for you, and he said that."

The room fell entirely silent after that. Kanna shed a silent tear, shocked, and Yugoda tightened her grip on her hand. Umiaktorvik hugged her tightly, and both broke into tears. When they separated, Kanna hugged Yugoda as if her life depended on it, and Yugoda started to sob silently. "Kanna, I-"

"We can leave." She suggested, and both Yugoda and Umiaktorvik fell silent. "I don't want to live here if we can't be together... I love you, Yugoda, and I won't let them take that away. Let's leave, go to the Southern Water Tribe - we can be happy!"

"Kanna, I love you too, so much, but we can't just leave! There's a war going on!" Yugoda replied, scared. "The Air Nomads are already gone, we won't make it to the South! Besides... We can't just leave everyone here to die!"

"But it's not fair that they're doing this to you! I can get you a ship, a map, and supplies!" Umiaktorvik offered. "You're in danger if you stay anyways. Chief Nukilik thinks the Avatar is a waterbender, and if the Fire Nation thinks the same, they'll come for us."

"And how is the Southern Water Tribe any safer, then?" Yugoda asked, fear clear in her eyes. "We can stay here, I can leave the healing techniques written for you, and while Pakku's busy training, Kanna and I can be together!"

"No, Yugoda." Kanna swallowed bitterly. "I don't want to be a secret. I don't want us to be a secret that has to be carefully kept away from Pakku."

"Then what are you going to do?" Yugoda asked her, and Umiaktorvik just stayed silent. "You're just going to leave?"

"I will. The Southern Water Tribe, where women can fight, is twice as safe as our tribe. And there would be no Pakku." Kanna calmed down, wiping the tears on her face. "I will leave, but not silently. Umiaktorvik, take me to Chief Nukilik, and then prepare the boat. Yugoda... If you're coming with me, I'll leave the day Pakku proposes."

"I like that plan." Yugoda smiled weakly, and, for a brief moment, Kanna was hopeful. "You can get a safe home in the South, and I'll find you after training the women to heal here. For now... Umiaktorvik and I will help you escape." It was unbearable to see the pain in their eyes. "I love you, Kanna, and I will find you again."

"I love you too, Yugoda." She kissed her shortly, then looked at Umiaktorvik in the eyes, determined. "Let's go."


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Avatar wakes up and finds a devastating truth - but there's not much time to think about it. He needs to stop Fire Lord Azulon before it's too late.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, this is going to be a long long LONG fic and i don't know how i didn't realize that sooner. Anyways, I'm excited about it, and as I've said before, the amount of things to change now that canon isn't real... Wow.  
> Thanks for beta reading Sruthi!!

One of the icebergs grew a little as Hama splashed it with water and froze it, furious. Her father, Chief Panuk, wasn't taking the threat that the Fire Nation had become any seriously, even after many of the benders had warned him about the possibility of the Avatar being a waterbending baby. If anything, he'd forbidden Hama from going with the other benders after that. With one last water whip to a nearby iceberg, Hama left, not really calm, but it was getting a little late.

Minutes later, a certain sphere shaped iceberg cracked open, making the wind blow strongly around it. It took Aang a while, but he managed to get up and observe the unfamiliar surroundings. His head hurt, and he had a bit of trouble remembering what had happened - why was he so far away from the Air Temple? Appa seemed tired, and everything around him, even if he had no problem keeping himself warm, seemed icy and cold. A fragment of the iceberg fell into the ocean, and the splashing sound gave him a thundering flashback - he was trying to keep Appa calm during a thunderstorm but why? And... Why was he crying?

"C'mon Appa, let's go back home. Yip yip!" he said softly, trying to remember, and Appa seemed a bit confused too, but he started flying anyways. Why would the monks send him to the middle of the ocean? Maybe icebergs were nice to jump from one to the other, but his airbending training would be a little better in the temple - that's where they could fly freely and do lots of different stuff like air scooters and fruit tarts. But there was just ice and water in the ocean!

Oh, yeah, ice... And water. For waterbending.

"You're the Avatar, and you have responsibilities!" A monk had reminded him harshly, forcing him to end his Pai Sho session with Gyatso so he could have one last airbending test. He was so angry back then, but right now it seemed so distant and hazy - he owed the monks an apology. Who knows how many hours had passed since he was gone - maybe a lot, since they were frozen, or maybe just a few, since Appa wasn't even hungry.

The Air Temple seemed completely empty, and there were a lot of footsteps everywhere but without any direction, as if someone was looking for something and didn't find it - they must've been old too, since only a few of the ones inside were still there. "Is this some kind of prank? I'm back home! I'm sorry I left!" Aang shouted, leaving Appa to eat something while he searched for someone. "Monk Gyatso? Where are you?"

Soon, he found an enormous door. He knew he was supposed to open it once he was ready for his Avatar duties, but maybe there was someone in there. It was quite easy to bend enough air into the mechanism, and soon enough, he found a room full of statues he didn't recognize. "Avatar Szeto. Avatar Yangchen. Avatar Kuruk. Avatar Kyoshi. Avatar Roku." He mumbled to himself as he passed in front of each one, almost as if remembering something he never imagined he knew, stopping in front of where his statue would be. "Avatar Aang, I guess."

There was a faint noise outside the room - a winged lemur was vibing in the gardens, and Aang approached carefully. "Hey, little buddy, what are you doing here?" He asked, looking at its curious eyes. Of course, the lemur didn't talk... At first, that is.

"Ah, Aang, good to see you again. I was wondering where you were." Aang was taken aback by the lemur's words, and even stepped away a bit. He wanted to think that someone was pranking him, but he'd already searched the whole temple, and it was empty. Besides, the voice came right when the lemur opened it's mouth, so it could be anything at this point. "Behind you, Aang." Scared, since there was something just a little off from how he remembered that voice, Aang turned around. "Welcome home."

"G-... Gyatso?" He couldn't tell whether he was surprised that Gyatso hadn't appeared sooner, relieved that he wasn't alone, worried about the circumstances, or simply struck with grief. All the tales the monks used to tell, the feather-light aura coming from him... Aang knew he was seeint Gyatso's spirit. "I- I'm sorry. I shouldn't have run away!" He felt tears rolling down his face. Perhaps fate was the cruelest thing ever, killing Gyatso during the only few hours Aang wasn't with him. "I should've been here with you!"

"Aang." Gyatso seemed so calm, trying to comfort the young airbender. "It's seven o' clock, I can tell you that, but do you know what day it is?"

"... I don't know what you mean." Aang seemed taken aback by such a simple question. "I'm... I'm not sure, but we should be a few weeks into spring. Huh... Everything seems so hazy for some reason... What happened to you?"

"Aang, it's almost the end of autumn." Gyatso chuckled, and gestured towards Aang so he followed him towards a balcony, where both of them sat on the edge. "Over twenty years ago, I think, was the day you left the temple... It was a very hard day, but maybe I'll tell you about it later. Fire Lord Sozin was planning on attacking us, and there was almost no time to do anything." Gyatso sighed, as Momo climbed on his lap. "Here, Aang, meet Momo. What a sweet little guy he is - I discovered very recently how spiritually connected we are... I guess I got a bit too old for sky bisons. Anyways, I guess I should tell you Fire Lord Azulon is planning on attacking the Water Tribes now."

"Aww." Aang carefully scratched behind Momo's ears. "Wait, what?! Why are you so calm about it?!"

"Aang." Gyatso chuckled again. "There's literally nothing I can do to stop it now," he paused, looking at the sky, "just like no one could stop Sozin with the comet in the sky. I ran after you, but everyone else hid in a safe place. It was the most peaceful way, not to mention it's the Avatar's duty to bring balance to the world, not ours. Only you can tell what things are meant to happen."

"I never asked to be the Avatar." Aang pouted. His mind wandered - there's no way it was true. Over twenty years had passed... And the Fire Nation was trying to take over the world, apparently. What would that mean for Kuzon? For Bumi? And everyone else in the world? Yet he was still the same boy he was when he left. "But I guess I am, aren't I."

"Yes, Aang, but that doesn't mean you have to do it alone." Gyatso sighed. "I wish you could've had more training, learn about the previous Avatars - it's wise to learn from the past, and, you know, every Avatar had their flaws. Szeto tried a fairly different approach to his Avatar duties, staying in the Fire Nation, while Yangchen traveled all around the world. Many blame her for the spirits' rage that Kuruk had to deal with, just as many blame him for the chaos Kyoshi had to face. A lot of people criticized Kyoshi's decisiveness, and another lot criticize Roku's mercy - no Avatar is perfect, Aang."

"What are you trying to say?"

"You must learn to forgive yourself." Gyatso smiled, then his face darkened. "I was so worried that day... I thought the Fire Nation might've captured you. I'm not sure how, but you managed to get close enough to the Southern Water Tribe that Fire Lord Sozin wouldn't suspect a thing, but you... You encased yourself in ice. I tried to break it and free you but... I guess it was not a good decision to face an Avatar."

"No... No that can't be!"

"Aang, I'm not angry at you. Even in the slightest." He paused, letting Momo stretch a bit before curling into himself again. "I knew I wouldn't recover from it, so I did everything I could to try and break the ice. I don't know how much longer you would've stayed in there otherwise."

"What can I do now? The other monks probably blame me for everything, and there's a war going on, and I haven't even started training, and- !"

"Aang." Gyatso interrupted him calmly. "Yes, they're all probably worried, but they'll forgive you too once they understand - you know, it took time to understand decisions made by airbenders like Kelsang, friend of Avatars Kuruk and Kyoshi, or Jesa, Kyoshi's mother." He stopped himself, sighed, and looked directly into Aang's eyes. "There's not much time left, maybe we can talk later. You should find a waterbending master soon. Take Momo with you, I'm sure the three of you will make great friends."

With that, Gyatso's spirit left, and Momo woke up, tilting his head sideways, as if asking Aang what he was going to do now.

Far away from the Air Temple, Kanna fixed her hair a little and left her house, letting the cold air reassure her gently before walking to the bridge where Pakku would propose. She trusted her friends, but it was scary - what she was about to do was something that hurt her, since she was leaving everyone behind. But, as she'd promised Yugoda, she would come back as soon as she could.


End file.
